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OAKLAND, California (Ticker) -- Tory James imitated Lester Hayes and set the latest divisional playoff nightmare in motion for the Miami Dolphins. James returned an interception 90 yards for a touchdown 3:24 into the game and the Oakland Raiders rolled to their first-ever playoff shutout, a 27-0 rout of the Dolphins. The Raiders (13-4) reached the AFC championship game for the first time since January 1991 and will meet the winner of Sunday's game between the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens. Hayes, a former Raiders cornerback, intercepted two passes and returned one for a touchdown in the last playoff game here, a 27-7 win over Houston in December 1980. He holds the team record with eight postseason interceptions. On Saturday, James, the team's nickel back, also intercepted two passes and set a club playoff record with his 90-yard TD return. Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown held the team record with a 75-yard touchdown return in Super Bowl XI against Minnesota. "I'm really happy with Tory James. He really stepped up big time," Raiders coach Jon Gruden said. "He stepped up late in the year to put us in the AFC championship game and we gave him the game ball." "It was like I was in a dream," James said. "I knew my time would come." It also marked the first time the Dolphins (12-6) were blanked in 38 postseason games, but it was the third straight year they were shellacked in the divisional playoffs. Under coach Jimmy Johnson the previous two seasons, Miami suffered a 38-3 loss to Denver and a 62-7 pounding to Jacksonville. Saturday's loss under coach Dave Wannstedt increases the overall margin to 127-10. "We need to feel a little disappointed," Wannstedt said. "I've been on both sides of this. The only way you feel good is when you win the Super Bowl." Miami's Lamar Smith, who rushed for a club playoff-record 209 yards on 40 carries in last week's overtime win over Indianapolis in the wild card round, was held to four yards on eight carries and committed a fumble which led to an Oakland touchdown. "We wanted to make sure we stopped the run," Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson said. "The guys up front made sure tackles and we did not let guys break tackles and get downfield." Oakland ranked fifth against the run this season and essentially negated Smith. With Darrell Russell and Grady Jackson at the tackle positions and Greg Biekert at middle linebacker, the Raiders keyed on Smith and dared quarterback Jay Fiedler to beat them. But Dan Marino's successor again struggled. Playing with a torn rotator cuff on his non-throwing shoulder, Fiedler was intercepted three times. He completed 18-of-37 passes for 176 yards. "We came in thinking we could win," Fiedler said. "I didn't execute well enough and that hurt. It feels bad right now." Last week, Miami overcame three first-half interceptions by Fiedler and rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat the Colts. But on Saturday, Fiedler's mistakes and Smith's turnover buried the Dolphins. "The first turnover deflated us a bit and the other turnover (Smith's) resulted in a touchdown," Wannstedt said. "You can't go on the road, give up turnovers and expect to win." The Raiders held Miami to 204 total yards and 10 first downs and had a huge advantage in time of possession, controlling the ball for nearly 37 1/2 minutes. Oakland's Rich Gannon passed for only 143 yards and a touchdown, but hurt Miami with his legs, often scrambling for first downs on third-down plays to keep drives alive. He rushed for 31 yards on five carries. Gannon fired a six-yard scoring pass to James Jett with 1:53 left in the second quarter to open a 20-0 halftime lead for the Raiders. Rookie Sebastian Janikowski kicked field goals of 36 and 33 yards. Former Dolphin Tyrone Wheatley scored on a two-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, but was held to 56 yards on 19 carries. Oakland is the NFL's top rushing team, averaging 154 yards a game on the ground. Of Miami's four first-half possessions, two resulted in turnovers and one was a three-and-out. "I thought our defense controlled the tempo of the game," Gannon said. "They really got us great field position and we were able to take advantage of it." The game started out in positive fashion for Miami when its defense held the Raiders and Jeff Ogden returned the ensuing punt 43 yards to the Oakland 41. But after moving into field goal position, Fiedler made the fateful pass. Attempting to drill a pass to Leslie Shepherd, Fiedler failed to spot James, who faked coverage on the outside and slipped to the inside. As Fiedler threw the pass, James easily stepped in front of Shepherd at the Oakland 10 and raced untouched down the left side into the end zone. "It was a big play and we fed off it," James said. "It seemed like it got us started." "He (James) was just sitting there, and it fell right into his hands," Fiedler said. "That wasn't a do-or-die situation right there. We tried to do some things and we just didn't execute." An offseason free agent signee after spending his first four seasons with the Denver Broncos, James was used as a nickel back and a third cornerback behind starters Woodson and Eric Allen. He had two interceptions this season and matched that total today. His second came in the fourth quarter after the Raiders had already opened a 27-0 lead. The Dolphins appeared rattled following James' touchdown and went three-and-out on their second possession. Gannon directed an eight-play, 46-yard drive, resulting in a 36-yard field goal by Janikowski with 4:52 left in the first quarter. Gannon hit Tim Brown with a 15-yard pass over the middle, and connected with fullback Zack Crockett on a nine-yard play to set up the field goal. Janikowski's second field goal, a 33-yarder with 8:36 left in the second quarter, capped a 12-play, 78-yard drive and increased Oakland's lead to 13-0. Running back Terry Kirby turned a short pass into a 31-yard play and tight end Jeremy Brigham had a 17-yard reception on the drive. On Miami's fourth possession, Smith broke off a 10-yard run up the middle, but lost control of the ball after Russell stripped him from behind and Woodson recovered the fumble at the Miami 43. Gannon ran for five yards on a 3rd-and-5 play to the Miami 33 and also broke off a 10-yard run to the 12. On a 3rd-down play at the Miami 6, Gannon fired a touchdown pass over the middle to Jett, who ran a quick slant and split defensive backs Terrence Shaw and Patrick Surtain. Gannon was 10-of-13 for 117 yards in the first half. Nursing a big lead and relying on its ground game to consume the clock, Gannon was 2-of-5 for 26 yards in the second half. Wheatley, who was waived by Miami in training camp last season and claimed by Oakland, scored on a two-yard run with 5:56 left in the third quarter to complete the rout. Gannon had a pair of six-yard runs on 3rd-down plays and hit Brown with a 12-yard pass on a 3rd-and-7 to the Miami 2 before Wheatley's touchdown. Dolphins middle linebacker Zach Thomas was forced to leave the game midway through the third quarter with a troublesome high ankle sprain and tossed his helmet toward the sideline, perhaps best summarazing his team's frustration. "We couldn't afford to make mistakes," Dolphins linebacker Robert Jones said. "You can't give up turnovers. In the playoffs, you've gotta play basically a mistake-free game." It was the Raiders' first home playoff game in seven years. In January 1994, the Raiders were located in Los Angeles when they beat Denver in the wild card game. The Raiders hold a 3-1 edge over Miami in the postseason. |
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